Magna withdraws guidance due to business uncertainty caused by COVID-19 outbreak

Donald J. Walker, chief executive officer of Magna International Inc., is silhouetted as he waits for the company's annual general meeting to begin in Toronto on Friday, May 10, 2013. Autoparts giant Magna International Inc. has withdrawn its outlook because of the "high degree of business uncertainty" caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

AURORA, Ont. — Magna International Inc. has withdrawn its 2020 outlook because of the "high degree of business uncertainty" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Aurora, Ont.-based auto parts company says many of its plants, particularly in North America and Europe, have reduced or suspended operations as auto companies have scaled back because of the outbreak.

The company says its operations in China are also still ramping up and below levels expected earlier this year, after an extended downtime in February.

Magna had reaffirmed its outlook in its Feb. 21 quarterly results of between US$38 billion and US$40 billion, but said at the time that it was too early to assess the true impact of the outbreak.

With auto production down, Magna says it has repurposed factories in Europe to help produce masks, with production as of Thursday up to about 51,000 a day. Similar facilities in Mexico are producing about 2,000 a day but still ramping up.

The company says it's also in discussions with automakers to provide parts for ventilators, face shields and other equipment.